tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-92081102637462403222024-03-14T06:09:11.437+00:00Ben J Hamilton Design & MiscBen J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.comBlogger293125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208110263746240322.post-68875028407590432822013-04-28T22:14:00.001+01:002013-04-28T22:14:16.526+01:00Abecedarian
Adj. Elementary, or arranged in alphabetical order.
Ben J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208110263746240322.post-12074669779995164482013-04-06T11:14:00.000+01:002013-04-06T11:14:00.155+01:00Sale into 2013The local shopping centre, previously a client where I work, wanted some artwork to go onto the screens inside their malls for the new year sales. I took the opportunity to do some hand-drawn lettering for it and then re-draw it in Illustrator. It was a small project but I'd have loved some more time to refine the drawing. The artwork was used on their external screen too – probably the biggest Ben J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208110263746240322.post-39311476894841197632013-04-04T16:02:00.000+01:002013-04-04T16:02:00.372+01:00Car dealership advertsI was asked to refresh the newspaper advertising of a client at work who sells new and used cars.
The original adverts stuck to one or two low-impact colours and used graphic elements that were better suited to the web. So I opted for bright colours where appropriate, and added some strong flat graphics as an extension of the branding.
The artwork below shows the flat 'used car' advert, and theBen J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208110263746240322.post-83291197600390177232013-04-02T19:54:00.002+01:002013-04-02T19:54:59.384+01:00The Heist (The Maiden Heist) filmThree security guards at an art gallery in America have spent so much time around three particular pieces of art that they've each developed a strong (almost worshipful) admiration for them. When they learn that each of their beloved artworks are being bought by a foreign gallery, they take matters into their own hands. Christopher Walken, Morgan Freeman and William H. Macy are surely reasonBen J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208110263746240322.post-10265977869957873902013-03-31T15:58:00.000+01:002013-03-31T15:58:24.724+01:00Web banners for kitchensSome web banners I've done in recent months for a work client. It's always a big help when you have access to a bank of great images to work with.
Ben J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208110263746240322.post-11318808926458021982013-02-27T13:56:00.000+00:002013-02-27T13:56:00.216+00:00Runner's WorldAnother magazine to look out for if you're a designer with or without any interest in running, Runner's World.
Although the cover is nothing to shout about (it's very busy and, although I'm not an enemy of white backgrounds, it just lacks kapow) when you look through the inner pages, there are usually lots of great infographics that use bright bold colours and some really refined creative Ben J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208110263746240322.post-29819676603190683492013-02-22T10:12:00.000+00:002013-02-22T10:12:00.763+00:00'Leonardo da Vinci' - Frank ZöllnerZöllner's 'The Complete Paintings and Drawings', published by Taschen, is one of my favourite books. In fact, it's two books – one for paintings, and one for drawings – and a complete collection of everything that survives from Leonardo's work. There are apparently still lots of codices that are missing, unless they've already been destroyed.
As it's a full collection, everything from the Ben J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208110263746240322.post-51020001638707691632013-02-19T20:28:00.000+00:002013-02-19T20:28:20.656+00:00Hierarchy in designThe idea of hierarchy is a major part of design. It can be 'invisible', just like good typography, which is why inexperienced designers don't always have a good eye for it. Whether its achieved with the layout, the type size, colours or other means, hierarchy always plays a role in design.
I stick to the motto 'if you try to make everything stand out, nothing will stand out' because I've come toBen J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208110263746240322.post-5015243325086545542013-02-12T23:13:00.000+00:002013-02-12T23:16:48.565+00:00The Lives of Others & StasilandThe Lives of Others is a 2006 German-language film about East Berlin during the 80s. It follows a playwright and an actress whose apartment is placed under full surveillance by the Stasi (the then Ministry for State Security). You get a real sense of their rigid and obsessive methods for gathering information about their own people, and Ulrich Mühe does an amazing job in portraying the main Ben J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208110263746240322.post-43544734538433876182013-02-12T12:39:00.000+00:002013-04-28T22:15:24.045+01:00JamieI read somewhere that you can find some great design in magazines that appeal to a smaller or more specific readership. So, ever since, I've flicked through every magazine I've come across in search of inspiration. It's not always convenient though - standing in Sainsbury's perusing Marie Claire gets me some funny looks.
I didn't find anything in Marie Claire, but I did in Jamie Oliver's Ben J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208110263746240322.post-67998625761606132872013-02-06T11:02:00.000+00:002013-02-12T20:58:06.933+00:00'Graphic Design Theory' - Helen ArmstrongThis book is a great record of many of the theories put forward by graphic designers since the early 1900s. It weighs in at 150 pages and features just enough full colour images to avoid monotony.
The design is handled cleverly, given the nature of the content. Quotations run up the left side of the asymmetrical page layouts, probably to allow for a comfortable line length and text size. Mini Ben J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208110263746240322.post-23938304133273340992013-02-04T21:34:00.001+00:002013-02-04T21:34:47.135+00:00Thomas Oliver's design collectionThis collection of graphic design, from Thomas Oliver, is a refreshing one – it doesn't feature any of the usual examples of avant-garde design. I liked this post about Karel Teige in particular, who was an artist/designer from Czechoslovakia (now a republic).
The post behind the image below is on Alexander Girard, whose wooden dolls are unlike anything I've ever seen before. Ben J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208110263746240322.post-5351436868613962442013-01-31T14:17:00.000+00:002013-01-31T14:17:00.603+00:005 Shortcuts to GeniusHere's a good article from Cracked.com that pretty much describes five ways to totally undermine all those silly people who take the long way round to being 'brainy'.
Learn to speed read
Solve a Rubik's Cube
Play the world's shortest game of chess
Work out maths in your head better (some Americans still call it 'math' . . . so annoying)
Scan people like Sherlock Holmes
I've been trying out Ben J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208110263746240322.post-6743607566332937762013-01-28T21:46:00.000+00:002013-01-28T21:46:03.010+00:00Guy with tied hairBen J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208110263746240322.post-65140654682465131112013-01-27T16:43:00.000+00:002013-01-27T16:43:46.275+00:00Package files in InDesign CS3/4/5Let's say you're going to create a document that'll have loads of links, but the files you want to use are located in lots of different places on your computer. You can't just link to them where they are, because if you deleted/moved/renamed any of them in future, then your InDesign file will no longer link to them. So they all need to be copied and put into one folder specifically for your Ben J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208110263746240322.post-84205569885460773962013-01-26T18:22:00.001+00:002013-02-12T20:45:26.154+00:00Hey you! Hast du Taschen?It was only a couple of years ago that I heard that Taschen still sends out printed magazines about their latest books. They probably send out about three each year, so although it's not frequent, it's a nice surprise when it finally turns up in the post. The magazine is pretty much a collection of adverts about their books with two or three articles thrown in and a few different features that Ben J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208110263746240322.post-58890162399690093932013-01-25T22:41:00.002+00:002013-01-25T22:41:57.793+00:00Chicago in the snowAs the snow has just freshly blanketed my hometown of Doncaster, I think it's fitting to share these brilliant photographs of Chicago I found recently on theatlantic.com.
Some of them are like scenes from one of the old Batman films (George Clooney's time is probably considered the 'old' Batman by now, right?). Very cool anyway.
(Reuters/John Gress)
Ben J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208110263746240322.post-23236373990352886072012-12-28T21:05:00.000+00:002013-04-28T22:16:33.947+01:00Christmas campaign
I came up with the concept behind this Christmas campaign for our local shopping centre after they'd briefed us to relate it back to their existing Christmas tv advert – which was based around the word 'if' (i.e. 'if you could have it all in one place' and 'if you could give everybody everything' etc).
It was great to have worked on a fully-fledged campaign that allowed us to arrange for a Ben J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208110263746240322.post-6003040344009872572012-10-22T22:53:00.002+01:002013-02-12T20:43:34.101+00:00An article, a designer and a zooHave you ever spent way more time browsing the internet than you originally intended – due to constantly finding links to bigger and better stuff? Well now you can re-live the experience! . . by following my footsteps into the world of designer Craig Oldham.
Firstly there was this very interesting article found on a distractingly interesting website:
Then I saw his website, which is Ben J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208110263746240322.post-70625557634216325942012-10-14T19:44:00.000+01:002013-02-12T20:44:32.474+00:00LippitudeBen J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208110263746240322.post-81206768035932727872012-09-04T20:40:00.001+01:002012-09-04T20:41:55.873+01:00A good site for all-round graphic designersGraphicMac is a great source of information on both the Adobe creative suite and web design – with lots of other updates about computing in general as well.
Bookmark it and keep an eye out for handy tips.
Ben J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208110263746240322.post-2849122486634664772012-08-25T09:38:00.000+01:002013-02-12T20:45:26.150+00:00MonocleMy favourite magazine right now is Monocle.
The topics it covers – food, drink, travel and business – aren't really what interest me about it. It's the illustrations and the design in general that make me keep wanting to buy it each month. And since I'm so into the visual side of it, I've started to read it more. It's also one of the few magazines available from national stockists that Ben J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208110263746240322.post-49980653955758758032012-08-24T19:42:00.001+01:002012-08-24T19:42:27.422+01:00Women of FlorenceFrom a book called 'Women of Florence' that I got on a free online archive. Nice foliage!
Ben J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208110263746240322.post-41035492311829017772012-08-23T18:45:00.000+01:002013-02-12T20:44:50.411+00:00The Form BookBorries Schwesinger produced this superb book about form design.
The subject of the book was also the focus of Borries' dissertation earlier on in his career. He built upon his dissertation with more written and visual content in order to produce what I think is the only book worth reading if you want to learn more about forms. He talks about their history, design, and use. It's not common that Ben J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208110263746240322.post-49727128351570663882012-08-21T19:54:00.003+01:002012-08-21T19:54:50.700+01:00Got a spare 3 minutes 29 seconds?This video makes a run down of the 100 most valuable businesses in the world. They could have just put up a list of names but oohhhhh no, they dance for us! Nothing but 110% effort went into this . .
www.wwp.com
Ben J Hamiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05428962542285623475noreply@blogger.com0